Roadway Safety Guide

008087702001PDFResearch PaperHighway safetyHighway designHighway factors in crashesGuidelinesRoad designRoadway safetyUnited StatesRoadway Safety FoundationUnited States. Federal Highway AdministrationNTL-HIGHWAY/ROAD TRANSPORTATION-DesignNTL-SAFETY AND SECURITY-Highway SafetyUS Transportation CollectionRoadway safety refers to that portion of overall highway safety that is determined by the roadway?s physical features such as road design, roadway signs, pavement markings, operating conditions, roadside objects (such as utility poles, signs, trees, guardrails), bridges, and intersections. Roadway Safety Guide is designed to provide local elected officials and other community leaders with basic information to improve roadway safety in their community. Written for non-engineers, the guide is a hands-on, easy-to-use introduction to both common roadway hazards and the often simple, cost-effective steps that communities can take to make their highways and bridges safer. Specifically, the guide lists a number of potentially hazardous conditions that can lead to roadway departure crashes, including: narrow roads and bridges, roadside hazards that are either too close to the roadway or not protected by guardrails, narrow shoulders that end in steep slopes or ditches, and intersections that are poorly marked and lighted. Other features of the Roadway Safety Guide include a checklist for identifying road and bridge trouble spots, examples of successful countermeasures in use, tips on building needed community support for fixing local roadway problems, and helpful hints for working with highway engineers and other government agencies with jurisdiction over highways and bridges. 80 p.88